RIYADH: Saudi Arabia’s point-of-sale transactions climbed to SR13.5 billion ($3.61 billion) between Aug. 11 and 17, reflecting a 3.6 percent increase from the previous week, official data showed. According to the latest figures from the Saudi Central Bank, also known as SAMA, the education sector led the charge, recording a 127.5 percent surge in spending, with total transactions reaching SR1.01 billion. This marks the fourth consecutive week of gains for the category, coinciding with the start of the academic year on Aug. 18. In an interview with Arab News, Saudi-based economist Talat Hafiz said that it is normal to see such a trend as pupils prepare to return to education. He added: “Most of the parents and students rush to the market before the opening of the school doors to buy the school supplies, leading to a noticeable increase in the POS of the education sector.” Hafiz explained that such behavior “will definitely reflect positively on the sales and revenues of the retail markets specialized in selling educational related goods.” He also pointed out that the campaigns launched by bookstores and electronic stores before the start of the school year attract consumers, leading to heavy purchases due to the discounts offered. The boost in POS spending follows a dip in the previous week, where transactions fell to SR13.09 billion. During the Aug. 11-17 period, spending on recreation and culture also saw a notable rise, up 11.8 percent to SR318.1 million, marking the second-largest increase. Clothing expenditures followed with a 7 percent uptick, reaching SR931.5 million. The top three biggest shares of this week’s POS were: Restaurants and cafes – SR1.87 billion spent, a 4.4 percent decrease from last week. Food and beverages – SR1.73 billion spent, down by 2.6 percent compared to the previous week. Miscellaneous goods and services – SR1.47 billion spent, dipping by 2.9 percent from the week before. Spending in the top three largest categories accounted for 37.45 percent of this week’s total value. As for the number of transactions, the education sector recorded the highest increase at 59 percent, reaching 232. Conversely, the hotel division saw the largest decrease at 14.1 percent, reaching 764 transactions. The most significant decline, at 15.9 percent, occurred in hotels, reducing total expenditure to SR267 million. Jewelry came in second place, dipping by 14.3 percent to SR209.9 million. Geographically, Riyadh dominated POS transactions, representing 34.1 percent of the total, with spending in the capital reaching SR4.62 billion — a 6.9 percent increase from the previous week. Jeddah followed with SR1.87 billion, accounting for 13.8 percent of the total, and Dammam came in third at SR665 million, up 5.5 percent. Abha saw the largest decrease in spending, down 10.2 percent to SR212 million. Hail and Makkah also experienced slight declines, with expenditure dropping 0.7 percent to SR199.9 million and 0.2 percent to SR544.3 million, respectively. Hafiz suggested that the decline in Abha might be due to consumers buying school supplies early and others relocating or entering the workforce after finishing their education. Tabouk recorded the highest increase in terms of the number of transactions, at 4.7 percent, achieving 4,566. Abha saw the most significant decrease at 11.5 percent, reaching 3,691 transactions.